Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.31664/zu.2021.108.06
The Soviet Underground Outcrops: Artistic Recognition and Transitional Field of Contemporary Art in Post-Soviet Russia
Margarita Kuleva
; National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University), Saint Petersburg; Centre for German and European Studies (CGES), St. Petersburg State University–Bielefeld University
Anastasia Masalova
; Higher School of Economics, National Research University (HSE University), Saint Petersburg
Abstract
This article explores the ways of evaluating artistic recognition by analyzing critical writings. Focusing on the post-war unofficial contemporary art scene in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia, we put an emphasis on the mechanisms of legitimation and the dynamics of artistic prestige in the restricted field of underground art. The research reveals major patterns not only in the process of recognition of unofficial Soviet art, but also discusses the role of criticism in the transitional period in a post-Soviet republic. Political turbulence caused by the dissolution of the Soviet Union facilitated radical changes in the conditions for artistic production and transformation. By employing methods of social network analysis (SNA), we reconstruct and evaluate interconnections between unofficial post-war artists and critics, working on the case study of the three most significant newspaper media from the 1990s.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
270740
URI
Publication date:
1.7.2021.
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